Rolling blog. Wolverhampton wandering, part 2…

21 Tuesday Apr 2026

Posted by Paul Bigland in Birmingham, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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Birmingham, Photography, Railways, Travel

12:45.

I’m back – and it’s been a long day! The hotel I stayed in last night was fine, with one odd exception. They wouldn’t let you leave any luggage after check-out. So, having already changed into my PPE I ended up carrying a rucsac full of ‘civvies’ around with me. Fortunately, the site was only 35 mins walk away.

My morning has been spent on a steep embankment where McGinley contractors have been busy digging boreholes to allow the condition of the embankment to be monitored. You may think the Victorians were great engineers, but you’d be shocked if you knew how they built railway embankments. They’re often impossibly steep and constructed out of any old rubbish, which is why they slip, so need monitoring. I was out with a team doing exactly that. It’s not the easiest of assignments due to the ground conditions.

Still, we got the job done so I’m free for the rest of the day.

Having been dropped off at Wolves station I’ve decided to explore. Right now I’m heading for Birmingham New St…

13:05.

I’m off again. After a cold start in Wolves this morning the weather’s warming up and there’s lots of sunshine in the offing so I’m having a spin out to Birmingham International on one of the new Class 730/2 trains. They’re the longer-distance version of the Class 730/0 and I have to say I’m rather impressed. The seating’s very good as is the layout – although the fact there’s not many table bays will annoy some.

19:00.

Back again en-route home after a busy day exploring Birmingham and Wolves. With the weather in my favour I spent the best part of an hour at International station grabbing pictures before heading back to the city and a break from national rail to photograph the tram extension to what will be the HS2 station at Curzon St – where work is really moving forward. After that, there was time for a trip to look at dome of the new stations which have been built on the Camp Hill line. How can you resist a station called ‘Pineapple Rd’?

The quality and thought that’s gone into the new stations is a credit to TfWM.They’re really rather good. If I had one gripe it would be the lack of toilets, but otherwise they’re very well laid out and landscaped. I’ll be interested to see the actual first year footfall statistics compared to the estimates.

Back in Brum I took another West Mids service via two other new stations on the route through Bescot. Willenhall especially brings back lots of memories for me as I spent several days here back in 1977 job-hunting in the lock trade. But that’s another story!

Having returned to Wolves I couldn’t resist nipping in to a local institution for a swift pint. The Great Western pub is tucked away in a back street below the surviving station but adjacent to the one that inspired its name.

19:30.

Now I’m heading to Manchester on a beautiful spring evening. I’d have been tempted to linger, but it’s been a long day and I’ve another busy one tomorrow. Due to some Cross-Country services being late I caught an Edinburgh bound Avanti Pendolino to Crewe where I had just enough time to catch another Pendolino bound for Manchester. It beats Voyagers hands down! Both trains have been busy but relaxed and at 9 -11 cars length very different to a Sardine-can Voyager.

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Cheers,

Paul

Rolling blog. Wolverhampton wandering, part 1.

20 Monday Apr 2026

Posted by Paul Bigland in Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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10:10.

Another week, another dollar…

Having spent the weekend at Bigland Towers and the Calder valley, it’s time to wander further afield as I’m working for a rail company in Wolverhampton first thing tomorrow, so I thought I’d make the most of getting there and the overnight stay the job entails.

My first leg of the journey is from Sowerby Bridge to Manchester aboard one of Northern’s old Class 158s where I’ve been able to set up the mobile office. Today’s a lovely day for travelling. Spring’s very much in the air and the Calder valley is bursting into life with cherry blossom much in evidence in towns like Todmorden. The valley’s quickly turning green as leaf-growth expands at a rate of knots. All we need now is for the weather to warm up!

My 2-car train isn’t to crowded as yet, despite it being the first off-peak service, but as it’s Monday that’s hardly surprising. The story may be very different once we’ve traversed the Pennines and reached Rochdale.

I’ll be blogging throughout the day, so feel free to pop in later and see what I get up to…

10:45.

As expected, this train’s almost full after leaving Rochdale, having picked up other passengers en-route. We’re now speeding towards Manchester under clear blue skies.

12:00.

Ho hum! I walked across Manchester city centre in glorious sunshine, looking forward to the next leg of the journey. I’d planned to catch Transport for Wales’s 11:30 to Crewe where I’d have a short break to get pictures before my next train to Wolves. Then I saw the crowds waiting on the platform and realised it was a two-car train! What’s the Welsh for ‘Sardine can’?

Thinking ‘bugger that’ I dashed across from 10 to 4 and joined a five-car Cross-Country Voyager heading for Bournemouth. It’s just as busy, but at least there’s breathing space in the vestibules.

Now I find myself recreating a regular commute from 12 years ago when I worked on the Staffordshire Area Improvement Programne (SAIP) which rebuilt the West Ciast Main line through and around the county town. How time flies!

12:47.

Stafford’s bathed in sunshine, so I may linger…

14:10.

And linger I did! I stayed for on hour in which time I managed to get some useful pictures, swap banter with station staff – and soak up the sun.

Now I’m on the last leg to Wolves aboard another XC service. This one’s less busy but no more quiet. There’s an ‘interesting’ British family in my car where the matriach of the family is watching (and broadcasting) one of those conspiracy/get rich Facebook channels. I’m sure that will work…

15:30.

Having arrived in Wolves I’ve wandered to the hotel in order to dump all my PPE. For the cost I’ve stayed in far worse.

2230.

I’ve really enjoyed today and a huge part of that has been because of the people that I’ve met. I’ve mentioned my love of this neck of the woods in bĺogs passim. Now, the only thing that’s spoiling stuff is technical shit that’s stopping me adding more pics

I’ve a very busy day tomorrow but hope to have the problem fixed soon.

Cheers,

Paul

Rolling blog. TRU times two…

17 Friday Apr 2026

Posted by Paul Bigland in Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Trans-Pennine Route Upgrade, TRU, West Yorkshire

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10:30.

This is my second rolling blog on the Trans-Pennine Route upgrade (TRU) this week. There’s far too much going on to be dealt with in one day so I’m out again today with the intention of looking at (mostly) different locations compared to Monday. The weather’s nowhere near as good as it was on Monday and I expect to get rained on at some point, but I’m not too bothered. It’s still nice to be out and about.

As I didn’t get down to Halifax station later than planned I decided to start by getting a train to Leeds so that I can cover the route to Huddersfield from that end. It’s also given me time to set up the mobile office on this busy 10:05 service from Halifax in order to set up today’s blog.

12:00.

Phew! That was a busy hour. As soon as I arrived at Leeds I had to return a work call. The upshot of which is that I’ll be travelling to Wolverhampton on Monday and staying overnight ready for an early morning start on Tuesday. So later I’ll have to do some hotel booking…

I was in Leeds just long enough to change trains and catch a non-stop service to Huddersfield. This was a useful recce trip as ut allowed ne to observe some of the work I’m wanting to photograph. I also had chance to grab a couple of shots of progress on the new through platforms at Huddersfield.

The site of the new platforms, looking towards Leeds.

15:30.

Back again after a busy few hours – and a lot of walking! Having caught tge rail replacement coach to Deighton I set off to explore several TRU sites. To be honest, Deighton’s not the most salubrious of places. It a mix of social housing and industrial estates nestled on the Northern side of the Colne valley. The Southern side’s much nicer and far more rural. But, fair play to whomever decided to plant so many cherry trees in the area as right now they’re looking gorgeous!

As many of the overbridges in the area are being rebuilt so inaccessible my first stop was Bradley Junction, where lots of work’s taking place. Track panels have been stacked ready for the renewal of the junction itself.

Bradley Jn. The line to the right would normally be used by trains from Huddersfield to Bradford.

Having got the shots I wanted I walked vack to Deighton before cutting along the canal to a location West of the former staion where a footpath overbridge gives great views of the changes. I’ll add pictures later. Realising just how close I was to the centre of Huddersfield I elected to walk tne rest of the way along the canal. It’s an easy walk as the Canal and River Trust have spent a lot of money having the towpath tarmac’d. The cynic in me wonders if they should be renamed the towpath trust as more of their money seens to be spent on them than the actual canals.

Fortunately, the rain held off and I had the chance to explore an interesting back-route to the town I’d never traversed before.

Huddersfield’s abandoned industrial heritage.

Now, after a break to book a hotel and download pictures I’m heading back to Leeds in the aftermath of a rainstorm I was lucky to duck!

16:10.

As the weather’s very much taken a turn for the worse and with the fact I’ve got the pictures that I wanted ‘in the can’ I dashed from one platform to another in Leeds in order to catch the first homeward service. Like many others I’m currently criwding the vestibules of a Northern service towards Blackpool North. The plan now is to walk home via my local for a well-earned beer (and maybe a slice of free pork pie) before a quiet night at home when I can add more pictures to this blog.

21:30.

Home again! I’ve covered a fair few miles today so now’s the time to relax. After arriving back in Halifax I walked back home but stopped off in my local for a couple of pints and a slice of pie. Both felt like they were earned!

Here’s a final picture update.

A TPE Class 185 speeds through the reverse curves at Deighton with the site of the old station just ahead of the train. A huge amount of civil engineering’s being undertaken on the site to provide space for four tracks and the new station and associated facilities. The new Slow lines are gradually being installed. They’re the ones to the left.

Here’s the old bridge I was taking pictures from. You can see the way it’s had to be altered to raise the deck in order to create space for the overhead electric wires.

Looking West from the same bridge. The new Fast lines will be installed to the left of the picture, which will involves slewing of the existing lines as they’ll become the Slow tracks.

Civil engineering that isn’t always appreciated by train travellers. Here’s a culvert under the embankment near Huddersfield that’s being renewed and enlarged in order to cope with climate change in order to build a resilient railway fit for the future.

Cheers,

Paul

15th April picture of the day…

15 Wednesday Apr 2026

Posted by Paul Bigland in Photography, Picture of the day, Railways, Trans-Pennine Route Upgrade, TRU, West Yorkshire

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Shit! We’re already halfway through April, or in other words – almost a third of the way through 2026! Where the hell’s the time going? My day seems to have flown by as much of it has been spent decorating the living room whilst I put the final (and 4th) coat of paint on the woodwork. Admittedly, I prefer modern paints to the stuff I used when I worked as a painter and decorator back in the early 1980s. Then you seemed to get more paint on everything other than the surface you were meant to be applying it to!

Whilst I was busily engaged with paintbrushes Dawn had a less pleasant task as she was at the dentists to have a molar removed. Having a tooth out is never the most enjoyable of experiences but dentistry has moved on a long way from when I was a kid in the 1960s. Then NHS dentists seemed like they were paid piece-work, the more they took out or filled, the more money they made. Fortunately, we have a fantastic dentists over in Huddersfield, the wonder of wellness. They’re so good people travel from all over the UK to visit them, so Dee was in good hands.

Even so, when she got home Dawn was still a bit woozy so has taken the rest of the day to recuperate, whilst I’ve shopped for someone who’s not allowed solid food or hot drinks for 48 hours. In the meantime – and as the living room is still topsy-turvey from the decorating I’ve reclaimed my old office in order to edit pictures and blog.

You can find all the pictures I took on Monday by following this link which will take you to the ‘recents’ section on my Zenfolio website. In the meantime. here’s a sample.

A pair of Trans-Pennine Express Class 185s round the curve into Dewsbury station under moody skies. This scene is slowly changing as station platforms are being extended (see left) and the first bases (right) have been sunk for overhead electrification masts and wires which will render pictures like this a thing of the past.

Cheers,

Paul

Another TRU update…

13 Monday Apr 2026

Posted by Paul Bigland in Photography, Railways, Trans-Pennine Route Upgrade, TRU, West Yorkshire

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england, History, Musings, Photography, Railways, Trans-Pennine Route Upgrade, Travel, TRU, Walking, West Yorkshire

16:00.

The sun’s shining here in West Yorkshire so I’m taking a break from decorating to have time out to check on progress with the Trans-Pennine Route Upgrade (TRU) on the railway line from Huddersfield to Leeds.

I’ve not been out that way for a while, and today seemed like the ideal opportunity. Right now I’m aboard a Northern service from Halifax to my first stop en-route. Mirfield. My first train was worked by one of the company’s aged Class 150s, which have been plying their trade since the mid 1980s.

A GBRf Class 66 hauls a biomass train from Liverpool to Drax power station through Mirfield

Mirfield was interesting as the new footbridge adds an elevated vista, allowing a different perspective of the station and its approaches. Having got the shots I wanted I headed off along the nearby canal to get to Ravensthorpe. It’s a journey you can’t do by rail anymore as the old station’s been demolished and the new one won’t open for several years.

The canal towpath’s a lovely walk and an insight into how much railway and other industry has disappeared.

The remains of the old railway from Mirfield towards Heckmondwyke seen from the canal.

The canal basin at Shepley Bridge shows its industrial heritage but now leisure activities keep it going.

Having strolled as far as Ravensthorpe I found the weather decided not to play ball as more and more cloud appeared. Even so, there was still chance to get some good record shots.

A TPE service passes the site of what will be the new Ravensthorpe station which will be just behind the train.

Here’s what was the old station (to the left). All gone now. The only familiar landmark is the signal gantry. Meanwhile, behind it, the abutments of the new fast lines flyover take shape behind it.

15th April update.

Sorry folks. I got waylaid for various reasons that I’ll explain in the next blog.

Now, where was I? Oh, yes, Ravensthorpe. As you can see from the pictures, it’s changed a bit. The old station’s vanished and there’s some serious civil engineering taking place where it was situated. That said, the bridge I was stood on to get these pictures will disappear too. You can see the new one in the picture before last.

Ravensthorpe is an odd place. I’m sure a new station will help to regenerate the area, but it’s going to take a lot, lot more. As there’s no trains I had to wander up to the main road in order to get to Dewsbury. There’s some lovely old terraced houses in the area but the air of decay and lack of civic pride is all to obvious.

Fly-tipping on a public space in Ravensthorpe.

I was tempted to walk all the way to Dewsbury but I was running out of time. Instead, I so brandished my bus pass and took the easy option. Doing so deposited me at a part of Dewsbury I’d never visited. The bus station, which is seeing major investment. The town’s an odd place. The old Victorian buildings are a solid testament to the prosperity it once had. But the world’s moved on, and like many Northern towns it’s been ignored by a series of Governments from Left to Right.

Victorian buildings to die for. If they were anywhere else…

After a swift pint in the institution that’s the West Riding refreshment rooms on the station I caught a train to Huddersfield. This allowed me to see some major TRU changes en-route that demand another visit. That said, work at Huddersfield hasn’t exactly stood still as part of a new over bridge has appeared since my last visit.

The over bridge will eventually extend to the left when the new through platforms are completed.

Having explored, I’ve realised I’ve some catching up to do on TRU. Expect an update soon…

Cheers,

Paul

Rolling blog. Derbyshire delights…

08 Wednesday Apr 2026

Posted by Paul Bigland in Derbyshire, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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Derbyshire, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

08:30.

Despite the best efforts of the orange man-baby in the White House, the world’s still here, so our day trip to Derbyshire is still on! In a humiliating climbdown, Trump has agreed to a two-week ceasefire brokered by Pakistan. His war has been a disaster for America’s reputation and exposed him for what he is, an ignorant, lying narcissist who’s been outmaneuvered by Iran at every turn. Not a single war objective has been achieved, but the moron will still declare ‘victory’.

But enough of politics for now. The sun’s shining and it’s time to pack, ready to head off to Edale and ‘carpe diem’. I’ll update this blog when we’re on the move.

12:00.

Slightly later than planned, we’re on our way travelling cross country and heading for Strines.

13;19.

Made it!

Looking East along the ridge from Mam Tor towards Hollins Cross, Back Tor and Lose Hill. This is a superb walk with views in all directions.

23:15.

Sorry, that wasn’t much of a rolling blog. Whilst the phone reception top Mam Tor is good, the pair of us were having too good a time for me to stop and blog. So, here’s a selection of camera pictures I took which were edited when I got home this evening.

Mam Tor has been a favourite walk of ours for many years. Not only is it an interesting walk in itself, it has stunning views and a railway running through Edale and beyond, which is great for photography.

Looking down onto the railway just outside Edale as a Northern Class 195 from Sheffield heads for Manchester.

Looking back on where we’d walked from at Back Tor. Hollins Cross is in the middle distance and Mam Tor the high point of the ridge.

The view East from Lose Hill with an East Midlands Railway service en-route to Liverpool. Hope station is just below the industrial warehouse.

Walkers head up and down Lose Hill on their way to/from Hope. The viaduct on the branch line to Hope cement works can be seen just above their heads.

Back Tor with Lose Hill in the distance. The path up to Back Tor is the steepest climb on the ridge. Not everybody makes it this far!

With Edale village in the background a pair of East Midland Railway Class 170s traverse the valley.

Once we’d descended from the ridge we were in need of refreshments but the local pub by Edale station was packed. It’s still the school holidays so the area was crammed with families and young people so we didn’t hang around and looked for somewhere quieter, finally plumping for the Woodroffe Arms in Hope. The pub serves well-kept real ales and has a beer garden out of the back so it was an ideal place to slake our thirsts before beginning the journey home.

We headed back via the infamous Snake Pass, a road which is slowly falling away in many sections. Its twists and turns make it extremely popular with motorcyclists, who were out in force today. Sadly, the standard of riding (bordering on the suicidal in some cases) illustrated why not all of them make it home, giving the road a bad reputation other than just the fact it’s regularly closed due to bad weather.

The guy on the Triumph Bonneville on the left was being blasted past by two younger idiots, or ‘organ donors’ as they’re known as by the medical profession.

The pass took us to Glossop, then on across Woodhead (another bad road) to Holme moss (ditto) before we approached Huddersfield. The scenery along these roads is bleak and dramatic. The one thing missing is any decent hostelries to stop at en-route. As we neared home we noticed smoke from burning moorland West of Huddersfield in the Marsden area. Despite the wet weather we’ve had, moorland is already going up in flames across West Yorkshire, which is a disaster this time of year as it’s the nesting season.

Then, when we got home and nipped up the hill to the supermarket, we saw this. More fires towards Rishworth, the M62 and Moss Moor (where we’d been walking in the snow only a few months ago). Neither of us can remember seeing moorland fires this close to home. It looks like we may be in for a bad year.

Cheers,

Paul

7th April picture of the day…

07 Tuesday Apr 2026

Posted by Paul Bigland in Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Railways, Yorkshire

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I’m back after an Easter break. I hadn’t intended to be absent from blogging but several things got in the way and meant I simply ran out of hours in a day! Blogging late at night’s never ideal – unless you fancy spleen-venting. Instead, I savoured the holiday period, making the most of time before Trump blows up the world – by accident or design. I also took time of to enjoy the stunning imagery from the America I miss, before the country went batshit. I’ve been watching NASA’s ‘Artemis 2’ mission to the moon, which has produced some fantastic pictures and video. You can follow it here. It’s given me a new optimism in humanity which has been sadly lacking of late – for obvious reasons.

Meanwhile, back at Bigland Towers Dawn and I decided to crack on with redecorating the living room in the cottage, another project that’s kept me away from blogging. This being an old (mid 19th century) cottage there’s hardly a level surface or right-angle in the place, which makes decorating challenging – especially when we’ve decided to wallpaper the front room rather than just paint the walls. Day one was mostly spent clearing the room, buying materials and prepping surfaces. Today was more about stripping some old wallpaper, repairing plasterwork and giving the ceiling its first coat of paint. Typically, we’ve chosen a time when the weather’s made a major improvement, so tomorrow decorating’s going to take a back seat as we’re having a day out walking in Edale (so expect a rolling blog). After that it’s back to decorating as Dee’s taken the week off in order to get the project finished. After that – who knows what’s on the calendar? Well, I do to an extent as I’ve few jobs lined up, and if the weather continues to get better I’ll be out and about more – but let’s not get ahead of ourselves here!

In the meantime, here’s today’s picture which was taken last week on my phone-losing trip to Knaresborough.

Flowers in abundance at Knaresborough where the station friends have been busy planting out old trolleys which are now packed with Primulas.

Cheers,

Paul

Rolling blog. Improving my circulation…

02 Thursday Apr 2026

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11:12.

I’m back on the rails again as we’ve lovely weather here in West Yorkshire, albeit with a frosty start. Now the sun’s warming the world and the blue skies are untroubled by more than just a few clouds. Having spent the morning pottering around at home I prepped to head out for the day to make the most of things before the start of the Easter break,

Having explored the Harrogate loop line the other week I’ve decided to retrace my steps in the hope of getting pictures of some of the things I discovered – but missed out capturing on camera. Right now I’m on the 10:58 from Sowerby Bridge, heading for Leeds. There’s plenty of room on this train as it consists of two 2-car Class 195s, making it easy to bag a table bay and set up the mobile office. Let’s see how the day goes…

12:45.

As always, Leeds was busy. Whilst I wasn’t there long LNER came up with a trio of Class 91s in 15 mins. Here’s 91127, a local celebrity as it’s named after the city’s main rail depot – Nevill Hill.

I wasn’t entirely sure which clockface way around the loop I was going to go today, but the first available train was the 12:06, so I’m going clockwise as far as Knaresborough.

One day I’d love to explore the section from Leed to Harrogate more as it has some amazing tunnels and viaducts set in gorgeous rolling scenery but that would be more on foot/road than rail.

16:45.

Ever had one of those days. I have. Everything was going swimmingly until we approached Knaresborough, when I broke one of my golden rules*. In this case it was the one that says never pack up at the last moment before you leave a train. Not having paid attention to my location I was blindsided and decided to repack the camera bag to change lenses. Bad move…

It was only when I’d got off the train to watch it depart that I realised I didn’t have my phone. The Goon shows character Moriarty was channeled as I uttered the word ‘sarpisti’ – along with several other invectives. So, plan B. Hang around until the unit I’d been on cycled through its diagram and returned with the hope that it was the same Conductor who may have found my phone or having had it handed it to them.

90 minutes later neither turned out to be the case, so the only thing was plan C. Head to York and hope my phone had been handed in there. Success! The Information office had it! It was easy to prove it was mine as I could unlock it, but thank you so much to Northern and LNER staff for being so efficient.

But, that’s buggered up my plans entirely. I’m now back at Knaresborough having a conciliatory pint in the Track and Sleeper before heading back towards Leeds…get pictures of an old railway survivor.

19:30.

I’m now on my way from Leeds back to Halifax after a frustrating day that wasn’t entirely a bust. On my way back from Knaresborough I stopped off at Starbeck to get pictures of the old railway survivor I mentioned earlier There’s a level crossing to the East of the station which is still guarded by a staffed signal box – which is tiny! It took a while to walk there but it was worth recording as these things are rare in this day and age – pix later.

After that and with the day cracking on I decided to head back home. There’s other pictures that I would have liked to have got, but they’d be easier by car than train – unless I want to spend hours walking.

*My other golden rule which has been learned from near-death experiences is never use teenage rickshaw/taxi/tuk-tuk drivers. It’s like the story about pilots. There’s old pilots, and there’s bold pilots, but there’s no old, bold pilots.

More soon…

Cheers,

Paul

31st March picture of the day…

31 Tuesday Mar 2026

Posted by Paul Bigland in Halifax, Photography, Picture of the day, Railways, West Yorkshire

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Where the hell’s March gone? We’re a quarter of the way through the year which seem to have flown by. Well, more like blown by up here in West Yorkshire as we seem to have had nothing but high winds for weeks! I’m afraid it’s a short blog from me today as the evening is already late. I’ve been busy catching up with picture editing after a long local stroll yesterday and preparations for the week ahead – with Easter on the horizon.

At least the days are getting longer, even if they’re not getting much drier or warmer, but I hope to be getting out and about – and further afield in April. Well, if the madman in the White House hasn’t crippled or blown up the planet before then!

In the meantime, here’s today’s picture which was taken on my perambulations around Halifax yesterday.

One of Northern’s 2-car Class 195s arrives at Halifax with service for Chester. Old woollen and flour mills dominate the landscape but the buildings just behind the train have a very different purpose nowadays. This is the Nestlé sweet factory that’s been producing ‘Quality Street’ chocolates since 1934.

Cheers,

Paul

Rolling blog. Loop the loop…

26 Thursday Mar 2026

Posted by Paul Bigland in Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel, Yorkshire

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10:15.

We were greeted by a bright but frosty morning here in the Calder valley and I’ve decided to make the most of the sunshine by heading out for the day. The plan in to traverse the Harrogate loop, a railway line that runs from Leeds through Harrogate and Knaresborough to York, stopping off a few times on the way.

Right now I’m on Northern’s 09:58 from Sowerby Bridge, heading for Leeds. The service is worked by a 2-car Class 195 so it’s pretty full with plenty of prams and their occupants clogging the vestibules, on their way to God knows where. Thankfully, the motion of the train seems to have sent the kids to sleep as it’s blissfully quiet! I’ve managed to find an airline seat, plug in and set up the mobile office to begin today’s rolling blog. I’ll keep you all updated on my progress as time goes by, so feel free to pop back later.

11:10.

My trip into Leeds was both quick and easy. I had under 20 mins to make my connection which was plenty of time to breeze through the crowds to platform 0 where an ex-Scotrail Class 170 sat burbling away. These units haven’t had a full refurbishment so I’m now esconsced in the former 1st Class section with 2+1 seating – and only me in it!

The service patrern on the loop has changed considerably since I was last here in November 2020. Now LNER run a 2 hourly service from Harrogate to London Kings Cross via Leeds rather than just a couple of trains a day. Northern used to turn back half their trains at Knaresborough, leaving the section from there to York with an hourly service. Now, nearly all trains run through to York. Gone are the old Class 143/153s too. The line’s now worked by 158s and 170s.

12:45.

I’ve stopped off at Harrogate to get a few pictures as the character of the line changes from here on. We’re back under the control of mechanical signalboxes abd semaphore signalling whose origins date back to the early days of the railways.

My train from Leeds departs from Harrogate.

15:30.

I’ve stopped off in Knaresborough and had just enough time to upload these pics from my travels. I’ll add captions and explain more about what I’ve been up to soon.

An LNER ‘Azuma’ leaves the carriage siding at Harrogate in readiness to form a service to London Kings Cross. It’s passing a fascinating array of modern modular colour light signals and possibly the last original LNER lattice gantry on the mainline network.

A Northern Class 170 crosses the river at Knaresborough. I’ll add more about this historic old town later.

Cattal station, East of Knaresborough is on the single track station with passing loops. It still possesses these hand-operated level crossing gates worked by the signaller based in the box behind.

Having deposited me at the attractive station at Poppleton my train heads off to York.

Poppleton is unique in that next door is the UKs only surviving plant nursery served by a narrow-gauge railway which is run by volunteers. Here’s a link to their website. Here’s some of the vehicles.

Back at Knaresborough, the old station buildings have been converted for several uses, including the wonderful Track and Sleeper pub.

17:10.

I’m about to close the loop by heading back from York via the direct line to Leeds, one that’s recently been modernised and electrified as part of the Trans-Pennine route upgrade. To be honest, it’s a section I’ve neglected visiting for a few years and something I need to put right. As much as I had planned, things have gone slightly awry due to a few commissions coming in via email which I’ve prioritised. On the bright side, I’ve now bookings until November!

York station and a classic view of its curved roof.

18:10.

I’m on the last leg from Leeds to Halifax aboard a peak-hour train. It may be going as far as Blackpool North but right now its primary function is to take Leeds commuters home.

The previous part of my trip ftom York was interesting as I’ve not used it for a while. The Trans-Pennine Route Upgrade (TRU) has really kicked in with electrification and associated works. I’ve realised I need to spend a day exploring just to document the changes.

I couldn’t help grimacing when we passed through Church Fenton. This was where HS2 phase 2 was meant to end, providing a by-pass of Leeds and Doncaster on the (even then) congested East Coast Main Line (ECML). Then – as usual – politicians with their penny-pinching and ever changing minds got in the way to waste billions without providing any workable alternatives. Now they’re all gone but the problems they left remain.

21:30.

I’m back at home catching up with bits and downloading more pictures. I’ll be working from home all day so I’ll flesh this blog out with more pictures and links over the weekend.

Cheers,

Paul

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Paul Bigland

~ Blogging on transport, travel & whatever takes my fancy.

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